Jan Loisen

Senior Researcher

Personal Description

The dual nature of media is one of the main topics I discuss with students in their introductory course to communication studies. Media belonging to the cultural domain and being an economic business immediately raises interesting questions on how media industries and content can both be economically sustainable and socially relevant. My interest lies in the study of how these tensions are dealt with in national, European and global policy forums. In the media domain cluster, I therefore participate in fundamental and policy research projects analyzing media policy at the intersection of economic and cultural concerns and interests. In addition, I am very much interested and involved in the development and organization of education programs regarding communication sciences, in which these research topics return throughout discussions with students.

After obtaining my PhD (VUB, 2009) concerning the role of international organizations such as WTO and Unesco in media policy development, I gradually took on more teaching activities next to research. Today, I am assistant professor at the Communication Studies Department and its Chair of the Education Board, which oversees several BA & MA programs including the Digital Communication Leadership Erasmus Mundus Master (DCLead, of which I am the VUB’s Consortium Board Representative). I am a member of SMIT since 2002, initially combining doctoral research with policy analysis and advice. My current role in research predominantly lies in preparing and promoting ongoing research projects, ranging from the set-up of the European Expert Network on Culture and Audiovisual (EENCA) to the supervision of PhD research projects on media flows and emerging media organizations in an international context.